M42 (New York City bus)
The M42 is a Manhattan bus route operated by MTA’s Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority. It runs mostly along 42nd Street in Midtown, connecting the East Side near the United Nations to the West Side near Pier 83 on the Hudson River. The line covers about 2.2 miles (3.5 km) and serves Midtown East, Midtown, and West Midtown. It runs all day and offers transfers to other bus lines, including the M50 Crosstown.
Route details: The eastern end starts near First Avenue and 41st Street, then the bus travels west along 42nd Street to the West Side, ending near 12th Avenue and 42nd Street (Pier 83). The eastern end uses a loop that goes along FDR Drive, 41st Street, and First Avenue. Some trips may terminate at Grand Central on the eastbound direction or at 8th Avenue on the westbound direction.
History and notes: The M42 follows the path of the old 42nd Street streetcar line, originally built by the Forty-Second Street, Manhattanville & St. Nicholas Railway in the 19th century and electrified in 1900. Streetcar service was replaced by buses in 1946, initially as the M106. In 1986, the line was redesignated as the M42 and gained a branch to the Javits Center on the West Side. The Javits Center branch was discontinued in 2010 to save money. There were years when some M42 buses came from the Manhattanville Depot for the morning rush (between 2017 and 2019), but that practice ended.
Ridership: In 2024, about 2.35 million people rode the M42.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 00:12 (CET).